The Chalice and the Knife
by Myrrat-Sade
Summary: Four friends meet in an ancient ritual, and nothing will ever be the same again for the magical world.
1. Chapter 1: The Chalice

Chapter 1: The Chalice

She was still a tiny slip of a girl, just on the brink of womanhood, when her mother entrusted her with the chalice. It was, her mother said, time for her to understand the mysteries of feminine magic, as her monthly blood began to flow.

It wasn't much to look at, really. Battered, a small amount of decoration around the rim. "A shiny gold chalice would be coveted by non-magical kings and the Christian priests. They have their false grails, and convince themselves of miracles in the name of the Christos."

Years later, she'd wondered who the Christos was - a famous wizard, she knew, but nothing more- but at the time, inheriting the cup, and all that it meant, had been so exciting. She'd carried it, wrapped in a gold-dyed, soft woolen blanket, as she and her mother made their way east that spring, headed to meet with others of their order, for Beltane. Her mother was the leader of their order, but she was growing old and it would soon be Heledd's duty to lead. That would begin with her consecration at the spring celebration, as she took her mother's place on the altar.

They'd been once before in Heledd's lifetime, and it was a magical time in her memory, much more exciting than her life in a tiny cottage, her mother offering up hedge witch cures and charms to locals who had no idea of her actual importance or power. She'd been 8 when last they attended, and of course too young to take part, but even children were part of the event, carrying water to the participants, and watching the festivities.

Heledd's excitement grew as they left the valleys, the land flattening out. Before long, they would meet up with Rhonwen and her mother, a richer but less powerful woman who had married a lord, a man of no magic but great local power. She would have men-at -arms to protect them as they continued the journey. Heledd knew that the four women could protect themselves well enough, but to travel with armed guards would be less conspicuous, and safer. Mostly, though, she was excited to see the friend she had made 5 years earlier at Beltane. She knew from the messages her friend sent her that she'd developed magic too.

When they met, Heledd saw that Rhonwen had grown into a tall, beautiful and intelligent young woman, though her namesake hair had darkened from the almost white-blond wisps she'd had when Heledd had last seen her. That night, they bedded down together in Rhonwen's father's keep, giggling late into the night, whispering about the journey. She plaited Rhonwen's hair into a circlet across the crown of her head, in a style they both thought set off her eyes beautifully, and told her about the chalice.

"You'll be consecrated, then?" asked Rhonwen, eyes huge.

"Yes," Heledd had whispered, a little breathlessly.

"Are you scared?"

"Terrified. I hope my Horned One is young, not like my mother's." Her mother's consecration had been with a man old enough to be her grandfather, though her mother insisted he had been relatively gentle, and his power had been great.

"Young and beautiful!" laughed Rhonwen, and they'd both giggled and taken turns describing the handsome men they'd seen, until they finally fell asleep.


	2. Chapter 2: Travelers on the Road

Chapter 2

The journey to the east and then south took them through some of the villages and keeps of other members of their order, some of them joining them. During the day, the adults would disillusion them all to look like beggars or lepers, so if non-magical folks saw them on the paths, they'd keep their distance. If the armed guards had to protect them, the spell would break, but they encountered no problems as they traveled.

Along the way, they'd picked up a young man about Heladd and Rhonwen's age, from the east. He was named Salenn. He was tall and thin, with wide-set black eyes and dark hair that hung, long, down his back. The evening they'd met up with him, once encamped, he'd approached them shyly, and bowed awkwardly to both the girls.

"My ladies," he'd said grandly, and reached down, plucked a little bunch of grass in each hand, stood and transformed the clumps into two bouquets of flowers. An arrangement of blue and purple louseworts, he presented to Rhonwen, and a gorgeous clump of golden yellow and white daisies, he gave to Heledd. Rhonwen flushed red, and stuck her nose in her flowers, and Heledd giggled nervously then invited him to join their fire for dinner. He did, and regaled them with tales of the low eastern wetlands from which he came, hilarious stories about frogs and scary ones about snakes. Heledd's mother smiled at them, but she looked a little troubled when she looked at Salenn.

That night, as they readied themselves to sleep, Rhonwen sighed a little heavily. "Maybe Salenn will be your Horned One," she said. "He's so handsome!"

He WAS handsome, but Heledd wasn't sure he was the type of man she liked. "I think he's too young!" protested Heledd. "Surely the Horned God will choose someone older than that!"

"He usually chooses the strongest, and Salenn is strong; I could feel it!" said Rhonwen. She sounded sad, under that false front of heartiness.

Oh, thought Heledd. She really likes him. Heledd's mother had pulled her aside and told her that she saw a darkness in Salenn, and that it worried her, but Heledd only saw a bright and vivacious young man, and now, someone who had caught her best friend's eye.

"We'll see," soothed Heledd.

Salenn joined them each day, as they walked, and Heledd noticed that he was kind, but also very smooth. He'd join them as soon as the party set out, and would always bow a little too deeply. He took turns; in the morning, he'd walk along with Heledd, but after lunch, he'd offer his arm to Rhonwen. He really knew how to talk to women, she noticed, but Rhonwen always looked sad when she was the one not on his arm, and so Heledd made a point to trip often, and finally begged off. "I'm too short to walk arm-in-arm with someone so much taller," she's laughed ruefully. "Besides, I'm carrying the Chalice, and need my arms free. Take Rhonwen's arm! You're almost the same height." Rhonwen had smiled, and mouthed "thanks" at her, as Salenn grinned behind her. He liked them both, but Heledd realized there was a little more between her two friends. She had enough on her mind with the upcoming festivities.


	3. Chapter 3: The Arrival

Chapter 3 - The Arrival

When they finally arrived at the forest where the order would meet, Heledd began looking for her dream Horned One in earnest, though she knew that it was idle daydreaming. So many men - old and young, muscled and slight, pretty and rugged.

She loved being here, surrounded by witches and wizards from near and far. Peddlers sold and traded sweets, and nearly everyone traded their local specialities with others. Witches from the Welsh mountains traded dragon horn and livers. One dealer in rarities had firey crabs "from the far Orient" and tamed kelpies for sale, for prices no one could even touch. Fairies flittered around, lighting the paths and daring anyone to take their wings. Rhonwen was especially taken with the magical kittens and said she'd have one, one day, although her mother would not buy her one on this trip.

Heledd traded five strands of unicorn hair she'd gathered to Ourdilic for a wand to replace the one she had been using, her great grandmother's willow and dragon heart wand. The wand maker, a small nut-brown, white-haired woman with one milky, blind eye, had come out ahead on that deal, but Heledd was thrilled to have her own wand now.

Heledd, in her anxious excitement, couldn't concentrate on trading, though. One man in particular caught her eye, although she knew it was foolish to fall for someone on the eve of her consecration. A wide-shouldered youth, maybe a year or two older than herself, with a mass of golden-red hair and the beginnings of a beard. He had a hearty laugh and every time she saw him, he was dicing with other youths, chasing enchanted mice in miniature races, or taking part in some similar fun. Seeing her gazing at the young man, Salenn had whispered to Rhonwen, then they untangled their fingers, and he walked over to a dicing game. A few words, and then Salenn had walked back to the two girls, the other man grinning happily at his side.

"Rhonwen, Heledd, may I introduce you to Gurdilic? He's born of non-magical folk, and this is his first Beltane! " The big red-haired man had bowed to them each, taking Heledd's hand in his and brushing his lips over it. "Ladies, my pleasure to meet you. Salenn here says I am in the presence of two great and powerful witches." It was Heledd's turn to blush, and she shot a grateful look at Salenn, who grinned at her.

The four became almost inseparable throughout the days leading up to Beltane, debating finer points of magical theory and uses of the many magical ingredients. There were group sessions daily to share spells and potion recipes. Gurdilic and Heledd often took a conservative approach, defending the old ways of doing things, while Rhonwen and Salenn always pushed forward, suggesting radical new ideas, only some of which worked. Gurdilic and Rhonwen, however, agreed on the need to use magic to improve the world around them, while Heledd and Salenn felt it should be used for more personal purposes. They were equally divided and united on various issues. For all four of them, these days were full of excitement, learning, and emotions.


	4. Chapter 4: The Rising Storm

Chapter 4 - The Rising Storm

On the morning of the Great Rite, the men and women separated. The men headed out into the woods, while then women and the smallest children stayed in the camps. It was to be a day of cleansing and fasting. Heledd and Rhonwen, giggling at first with nervousness, were soon taken with the solemn mood.

Around noon, the women went to the stream near the clearing where they'd camped, and stripped, bathing and plaiting spring flowers into their hair. Heledd, who was to be consecrated, was given special treatment. Her eyes were painted with gold dust and her dark hair was arranged into ringlets and special braids. Her naked body was painted with symbols in blue and red pigments, her arms smeared with green and gold. In the relative warmth of the afternoon, they lay in sun to dry.

Out in the woods, the men built a fire and had it stoked up by the time the sun was overhead. Salenn, who had been to Beltane once before, would only grin good naturally and say "Just wait and see," when Gurdilic asked him what would happen. "Last time I was here, I was only a little kid, so I wasn't part of the men's ceremony. I'm almost as in the dark as you. But maybe when the Horned One comes, he'll choose one of us to be his body!"

"His body?" asked Gurdilic, looking concerned. "I don't understand. I'm new to this, remember?"

"The Horned God will choose one man to act his will. He will fill that man, and direct his actions. The Horned One has a sacred duty. He will plow the earth and plant the fields tonight." Salenn had a faraway look on his face, as he described the coming ritual. "It's all very symbolic and ancient," he said, with a little head shake. "I wonder if it's not time to move forward? You know, make magic more about the real world?"

At the stream, as the sun began to dip, Heledd's mother stoked up a small, hot fire and began to brew a potion. All the elder women joined in, adding ingredients, stoking the fire magically, and chanting. When the potion was bubbling in the cauldron, Heledd walked forward with the cup as she'd seen her mother do 5 years earlier, and dipped it in. As the sun slipped down under the edge of the world, she held up the quickly cooling liquid, and in one voice, the women called on the goddess to open their wombs and those of all the female animals, to bring fertility to the world, to make the crops grow tall and the lambs and calves to grow strong, and then Heledd downed the first cup of blood-red liquid, and fainted straight back into the arms of her sisters. The women laid her on a prepared bed of flowers on the ground and then each took up the cup in turn, drinking down the liquid as the darkness grew.

In the woods, the men's ritual was similar. Their bodies were painted in blue pigment and gold powder, an unguent that would cause visions and intoxication later, and when the sun began to sink, the elder men created their potion over coals taken from the heart of the fire. When it was complete, the younger men - Salenn and Gurdilic included - began pouring it out into the small bowls each man had brought with him. The men took their places in a circle around the fire, and when everyone was served, they began to sing and chant, calling on the Horned God to join them and give them strength and virility, to make their hunts successful and their rams and bulls fecund and their crops productive. The fire heated their faces until they burned and when the chanting and calling had reached a fever pitch, they all drank the potion.


	5. Chapter 5: The Goddess, Awakened

Chapter 5 - The Goddess, Awakened

Heledd, lying back on her back on the bed of flowers, had entered a trance state as soon as she fainted. Around her, she could see the women approaching the cauldron and drinking, but layered over that in a vision, she saw the Goddess rise out of the water and walk toward her.

Heledd gasped to look on the Goddess. She was beautiful, more beautiful than anyone or anything Heledd had ever seen, and stood twenty feet tall or more, like a giantess but built like a human woman. She seemed to be made of water; Heledd could see through her blue-green limbs. She could see fishes swimming in the Goddess' flesh, which glowed from an inner light. The Goddess walked steadily to Heledd's bed, and as she did, she reached out to touch the heads of the other women. Each one she touched swooned and began to babble. Some fell on their knees, while others began to dance or jerk, and still others froze or fainted. None seemed aware of the Goddess, but they reacted nonetheless.

When the Goddess reached Heledd, she sat down at her feet, cross-legged, and spoke in a voice only Heledd could hear.

"My daughter, you are here to embody me at last. I remember when I looked on you, once before. I saw such strength."

"Thank you, Lady," said Heledd. No one had told her she would have a conversation with the Goddess!

"I see much more in you. You and three others will do something great and terrible. You will break my Order."

"No, Lady!" said Heledd, alarmed. This could not be right!

"It is not a bad thing I see. It is time. The world is changing. Witches and wizards need to change with it. This ritual is nearly at an end."

And with those words, the Goddess melted away. All the women were standing around her, not quite protecting her, and in the distance, she could hear an animal cry, a whole herd of animals crying, getting louder.


	6. Chapter 6: The Horned God

Chapter 6 - The Horned God

Later, Salenn would barely remember the terror he'd felt as the Horned God appeared before him, and for a brief second, he was himself looking at himself, the God looking at the God. Then he was himself again.

Next to him, Gurdilic's head snapped back, his eyes rolled up, and he began to shout and pant. A cry went up around the circle. "He has chosen! He has chosen!" Gurdilic turned to look at at him and Salenn was shocked to see that his eyes were white-hot glowing slits and that the God's horns sprang like frozen lighting striking out of his head. Then Gurdilic turned heel and bounded like a stag out of the woods, and Salenn and the other men screamed wordlessly and tore after him.

At the clearing, Heledd stood on her floral bed, the cup in her hands, filled somehow with water that was almost immediately wine. Gurdilic leapt to her on inhuman legs and she poured the wine over his head. He leaned back and caught a bit in his mouth and she poured the last bit into her own mouth and felt time stand still.

"My Goddess," said the Horned One, standing before her. "I barely have words for how beautiful you are."

The Goddess laughed. "You always flatter me! Has it really only been a year since we were together last?"

"It feels like an eternity," said the Horned One, his head moving closer to hers.

"Wait," she said. "These vessels are different, this time. Do you feel it?"

"Yes."

"They will end the ritual, think. They and two more."

"What will happen to us?"

"I don't know. But we have this night, at least." The Goddess held out the cup, and the Horned God pulled a large black-handled knife from his waist and brought it two-handed down into the cup. They let go and the paired items hung in the air. The golden-haired Horned One was horned in more ways than one, and the Goddess opened her arms and fell back on the flowers, laughing as he fell on her. A cry went up around them, and after that, the night was give over to lust.


	7. Chapter 7: After the Storm

Chapter 7 - After the Storm

In the morning, Heledd remembered little of the night before, but her thighs were sticky with blood and seed, and the bed of flowers was flat and sad looking. Gurdilic lay naked in her arms, and she gave a little whisper of thanks that her Horned One had been him, although she understood now that if it had been some 90 year old man, it would not have made any difference. She and Gurdilic had not coupled; the Goddess and the Horned God had.

Glancing around, she saw with some shock that her own mother had fallen asleep with her arms around two boys no older than Heledd. Her mother, though she took the ritual seriously, was not a great lover of men, preferring to take women into her bed. Perhaps the God and Goddess had given her these smooth-faced boys as a consolation for her trouble?

She didn't see Rhonwen or Salenn, and was a little worried. Her movements, though slight, had stirred Gurdilic, and he sat up, bleary-eyed, glanced down at his cock, and looked at her in shock. "I…?" he started, but his voice cracked with dryness caused by the potion and howling and whatever the Horned God had done within him.

Heledd laughed. "Yes, you. You were my Horned One, and were you ever horned!"

He blushed. "I don't remember much…"

"It's alright. You shouldn't remember much. Come on, let's go down to the water and wash up," Heledd laughed. He got to his feet and offered her a hand, and they walked, still nude. At the water's edge, they were not terribly surprised to see Rhonwen and Salenn a little ways off, knee-deep in the water and laughing. The friends were soon in a four-way water fight, splashing each other, and despite the oddness of the night before and the weight of duty that Heledd felt settling over her, things were back to almost how they'd been before.

That evening, they ate together under the watchful eyes of Heledd's and Rhonwen's mothers - although they were old enough to take part in the Beltane ritual, they were not going to be allowed to participate in such activities on a regular basis yet.

"Mother, I remember something strange the Goddess said to me last night," Heledd started, but her mother looked shocked.

"She spoke to you?" asked Rhonwen's mother, and glanced at Heledd's mother.

"Is that not normal?"

"No. And whatever she told you, keep to yourself," snapped her mother, looking angry. Perhaps the Goddess never spoke to her. Giving up power was hard for her, and this may have been too much to hear.

After that, the adults had busied themselves in conversation, and the four friends huddled together and played a game of naming potion ingredients. As usual, either Rhonwen or Salenn won almost every round, laughing, until Heledd suggested the team up, boys against girls. That evened things out a lot.

In the morning, there was a flurry of activity and last-minute trading, but the festival was over and the crowd had begun to thin out. People who lived nearby wanted to hurry home, to tend farms and homes. People with greater distances waited to get on the road. Gurdilic had come with a witch who lived near him, and she was ready to leave.

Heledd and Gurdilic shared whispered goodbyes out of sight of the others. Gurdilic had kissed Rhonwen's hand warmly, and he and Salenn had hugged heartily, promising to meet up again soon and all four had promised to send messages to each other frequently. Soon they were three, and Heledd had to remind herself not to stare off to the west, toward Cornwall, where Gurdilic's family lived.

There was still business to take care of, as Heledd and her mother met with the other elders and discussed Heledd's training. Heledd felt bad, knowing she would destroy the order, as the Goddess had told her, but for now, she had work to do.

In the morning, their band left, and a few days later, Salenn's group parted ways. Before he left them, he offered Heledd a small gift, a basilisk scale on a ribbon, "a gift for the next leader of our order," he'd said. He gave Rhonwen a metal comb, saying "One day, I will give you something more beautiful," and then he leaned forward and whispered into her ear. Without a word, she puller her belt knife out, reached up and sliced a lock of her dark brown hair off and, coiling it into a ringlet, placed it in his hand.

"I'll need to find some way to keep this close to my heart forever," he said, smiling, though there was a glassy glint in his eye, and then he turned and jogged off after his group, who were already on the road.

After that, the girls had walked, hand in hand, and Heledd told Rhonwen about the Goddess' prediction. Rhonwen was quiet that day, and in the morning, when their mothers could not hear them, said "I think you and Gurdilic are the end of the old ways, and Salenn and I are the beginning of the new. You carry the ancient cup, and in the ritual, you were the chalice and he was the sword. That's the old magic."

"So, we're the tradition," said Heledd slowly, thinking about her friend's words. "My old witch blood is hearth magic and he is wild magic? But he's born of non-magical folk. Wouldn't you expect him to be a new guard?"

"Yes! But Salenn was always talking about pushing the boundaries of magic, parting ways with the old ways and finding new ways, while Gurdilic so embodies the old ways that the Horned God chose him to embody. Salenn is an inventor of spells and every time we talked alone, I felt so full of life and a desire to create and experiment. Your mother would never approve, but I think it's the way of the future."

It was Heledd's turn to be quiet, as she thought about this. Finally, linking her arm with her friend, she grinned. "As long as were always friends, I think we can do anything we want to."


	8. Author's notes

Author's note:

First of all, the rituals described here are loosely based on recreated rituals used in Wicca and other Neopagan beliefs. No real evidence exists about these in pagan or druidic rituals, although there are many false sources floating around, presenting themselves as authorities. I almost feel bad using this fakery in my story, but it fit with the idea I had. While I'm all for people believing in whatever they want to give their faith to, I urge anyone who still believes any Gardnerian or Murrayite fakelore to get educated on the topic.

Essentially, I'm joining one fiction, the Harry Potter Wizarding World, with another, that of Neopaganism. Believe me, they're about equal in terms of historical accuracy.

The names I used are all period-correct, 10th century Cornish, Celtic, and Welsh given names taken from the Bodmin Manumissions, as recorded by Heather Rose Jones, to whom I am indebted. More information can be found here: www. /names/tangwystyl/bodmin/#Background. I selected the closest gender-correct names for the four founders as I could.

Both the Great Rite of the ritual marriage between the Goddess and the Horned God, and the ritual of the chalice and the knife, do exist in many forms. The latter does represent, for modern Wiccans, an act of ritual sex. As such, I feel that Godric and Helga represent the conceptual "old" magic (that, as I noted, didn't really exist in the era) with their "cup" and "sword" symbols. However, the other two - Rowena and Salazar - have such odd symbols. The diadem and locket are much more modern, compared to the heavy-handed yonic and phallic symbols of the other two. As I thought about this, it seemed to me that they represented a step forward in thinking from the old ways.

While I'm not the topic of cups, did you notice that the cup is the Holy Grail? Why this was not in canon, I'll never know. One famous cup lost somewhere in England, searched for by knights for centuries, and Helga's cup isn't it? Like hell.

Although I identify as a Slytherin myself, I find the also-ran position of Helga to be annoying and dismissive of everything she stands for and was. Hence, I wanted to make her the lead here, and give her the role of the sexual, powerful goddess. You don't get to be a heath-mother-figure without some sex, you know?

Finally, I am pretty sure this idea is bigger than I am, and my writing suffers for it, with the resulting story being poorly written and immature.


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